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Are you a meal skipper from way back? Dashing out the door to the school bus before Mom could slip so much as a glass of OJ in your hand? Rushing from meeting to meeting — and vending machine to vending machine — without ever stopping for square one (unless you count the orange cheese-cracker squares)? Coming home too late and too beat to contemplate making dinner (beyond opening that bag of chips and that pint of ice cream, that is)?

It's time for a change — and to get in the habit of filling up that tank of yours before the red E light comes on. Running on empty is never a good idea, but it's a particularly bad one when you're expecting. At 16 weeks pregnant, making time for regular pit stops of good nutrition helps your body cope better with whatever symptom pregnancy's throwing your way (from morning sickness to constipation, and everything in between). They're especially important when it comes to fighting fatigue, since they keep blood sugar levels and your energy up (running on empty makes it hard to run — or run around — at all).

If fueling your get-up-and-go isn't motivation enough to brake for breakfast (and lunch, and dinner, and those sustaining in-between meal snacks), remember that you're fueling someone else these days, too. You're eating for two — which means that when you skip meals, you're also skipping them for two. Your baby's growing around the clock — and since you're his or her only source of food (fetuses can't order out when Mom doesn't order in), your baby depends on you for nutrient deliveries to support that growth. Even when you're not in the market for a meal (or don't have time to get to the market at all), baby is. Need more convincing? Studies show that pregnant women who eat at least five times a day are more likely to carry to term than those who don't. (That's right — those three squares a day aren't enough when you're expecting. You and baby will do much better on five or six small daily meals.)

Can't shake the meal skipping habit? Here are some ideas to help:

Do you skip breakfast because — well, you're not a breakfast person? Baby doesn't mind if you opt out of the oatmeal and go for a toasted cheese sandwich instead (or a slice of cold meatloaf from last night's dinner). Do you skip your morning meal because — well, you're not a morning person? Set your alarm for 15 minutes earlier, so you'll have a chance to wake up before you set those eggs in front of you (turning in a little earlier at night will definitely help with your morning mood). Is it time that's not on your side? Prepare something the night before that you can eat on the run — a breakfast burrito that's ready to roll (after a quick stop in the micro), a bag of dry cereal and trail mix washed down by calcium-fortified juice, a breakfast smoothie (put all the ingredients in the blender jar, stick it in the fridge, then give it a whirl in the a.m.).

Is eating at the office always a scheduling conflict? Adjust your schedule, and squeeze in a lunch break (even if it's just a sandwich and a fruit cup at your desk). Take meetings over lunch, instead of over coffee. Suggest ordering fruit and cheese (and maybe some whole-grain crackers) instead of fruit and cheese Danish for the strategy session in the conference room. And keep plenty of office supplies at the ready. No, not Post-its and printer paper — nutritious snacks that will keep you feeding your baby (instead of the vending machine): Stash bags of dried fruit and nuts, dry cereal, and crackers in your desk, a supply of individually wrapped cheese wedges and sticks, hard-boiled eggs, individual yogurt and cottage cheese containers, and so on in the office fridge.

Just can't remember to eat? Arm yourself with an alarm clock (or a wristwatch that has an alarm), and set it at two-hour intervals. (You'll be feeding your baby at two-hour intervals soon enough — so you might as well get used to the schedule now!) Put "have you fed your baby?" reminders, too, wherever you spend a lot of time (put one on your dashboard, your computer screen, the TV screen). If you're afraid to eat because you can't keep anything down, know that nausea can actually be made worse by an empty stomach. Fill your tummy slowly, starting with fluids (water, fruit juices, smoothies, soups) and then moving on to solids once you think your nausea can handle it.

Plain not hungry, because you're not used to eating so often? Take it slow — serving up small amounts of food more frequently will get your tummy adjusted to being filled more often, without overtaxing your digestion. Pretty soon, as your stomach adjusts, hunger will start striking naturally.

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